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A 15-year-old boy pleaded guilty to the beating of a teenage ex-DOGE staffer earlier this year that sparked President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to restore order to the city.
The 15-year-old, from Hyattsville, Maryland, pleaded guilty in D.C. juvenile court to felony assault, simple assault, robbery and attempted robbery related to the beating of the former DOGE staffer, Edward Coristine, according to local outlet NBC Washington.
On Aug. 3, Coristine, better known by his nickname, “Big Balls,” was assaulted at approximately 3 a.m. by a group of teenagers in D.C.’s Logan Circle neighborhood. The teens allegedly attempted to carjack him and a woman, whom police identified as his significant other, according to authorities.
Police said Coristine pushed the woman into the vehicle for safety and turned to confront the attackers.
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A photo of a bloodied Coristine went viral, sparking outrage over the city’s handling of crime and drawing President Donald Trump’s attention. The president slammed D.C., saying crime in the city was “totally out of control.”
“Local ‘youths’ and gang members, some only 14, 15, and 16-years-old, are randomly attacking, mugging, maiming, and shooting innocent citizens, at the same time knowing that they will be almost immediately released. They are not afraid of Law Enforcement because they know nothing ever happens to them, but it’s going to happen now!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Days later Trump directed federal law enforcement to increase its presence throughout D.C. He also deployed members of the National Guard to patrol the city and assumed federal control of the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department.
Trump touted the takeover’s success in stopping crime in the city, saying in late August, “We’ve had some incredible results and results have come out and it’s like a different place. It’s like a different city.”
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Last week, the House of Representatives passed a pair of bills aimed at cracking down on crime in Washington, D.C., with dozens of Democrats voting against each one.
The first bill advanced through the House was the DC Criminal Reforms to Immediately Make Everyone Safe Act, or the DC CRIMES Act. That legislation, led by Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., would reduce the maximum statutory age of a youth offender from 24 to 18, meaning people in their late teens are eligible to be tried as adults.
It would also bar judges in most cases from being able to hand down sentences lower than the stated mandatory minimum for juvenile offenders.
House lawmakers also advanced a bill led by Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, that would make juvenile offenders as young as 14 eligible to be tried as adults, if accused of certain violent crimes.
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That age limit is currently at 16. The bill covers crimes including murder, first-degree sexual abuse, burglary in the first degree, robbery while armed, or assault with intent to commit any such offense, according to a press release on Gill’s website.
Since then, Trump has suggested he would take a similar approach to cracking down on crime in other major American cities. On Sept. 15, he signed a presidential memorandum titled “Restoring Law and Order in Memphis,” mobilizing the National Guard to the city and establishing a “Memphis Safe Task Force” like the D.C. task force.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind and Stephen Sorace contributed to this report.
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